Mir: Ubuntu’s X.Org/Wayland Replacement Announced

Mir is not based on any other existing display server projects or Wayland and is being developed for the next generation of devices like mobile devices, tablets and even desktops to unleash an entirely new level of user experience. Canonical describes Mir as “A system-level component targeted as a replacement for the X window server system to unlock next-generation user experiences for devices ranging from Linux desktop to mobile devices powered by Ubuntu.”

Talks about a completely new display server from Canonical emerged about a month ago but, there were no details available at the moment apart from the fact that the new display server was not going to be based on X.Org or Wayland. Canonical has now released specification of Mir through Ubuntu Wiki.

According to the Wiki, Mir will support Android graphics drivers as well as the existing open source Linux graphics drivers such as DRM/KMS/Mesa/GBM. The Ubuntu maker is also working towards ensuring that other drivers are also supported. Legacy X11 applications will also be supported through root-less X.Org. GTK3 and Qt/QML tool-kits will be natively supported by Mir.

A couple of other things Canonical has revealed is that Mir will used across its product range – Ubuntu Desktop through to the recently released Ubuntu Touch for smartphones and tablets. Canonical has said that Mir will be ready for Ubuntu Phone by October, 2013 and that it will be released for other form factors in about a year’s time.

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